New England is an absolutely glorious place in the summer and, although it’s a short season, there’s so much to enjoy here. There’s especially a lot of family-friendly attractions throughout the area. For those of you in the Boston area with young children a few not much more than an hour from downtown come to mind:

Battleship Cove – this ‘floating museum’ on the southcoast of Massachusetts has several retired US Navy warships open for touring. Most notably the World War II era Massachusetts. If you bring a group along you can also camp out on the ship in the enlisted crew cots – it’s a great place to bring someone to show them a piece of living history.

Great Brook Farm State Park – This park in Carlisle boasts a working dairy farm that is open for scheduled tours, lots of open space to enjoy, an ice cream stand in the summer and an area where you can pet and feed the farm animals.

Stone Zoo – This zoo is located just a few minutes north of Boston off of I-93 and boasts lots of different animals and environments for kids to enjoy – including a lagoon full of flamingos! The Stone Zoo also has a sister zoo in Boston – Franklin Park Zoo.

Minuteman National Historic Park – This is a great place to take a child after they’ve learned about the American Revolution in school. Being able to talk the Battle Road and see the places from the history books is a real treat. Plus there’s an interactive video, people dressed up in period uniforms and costumes and lots of special programming.

This is just a small sample of what’s available near Boston – there’s a lot more in the area and tons more if you’re willing to drive further! Go out and enjoy these wonderful last few weeks of summer and free days before school starts up again!